TERRE HAUTE — After much thought, I’ve decided to skip the “Super Bowl odds” column this year and perhaps forever.
C’mon, wipe that tear from your eye. You’ll survive the weekend without knowing the probability of O.J. Simpson appearing as NBC’s halftime guest.
To be honest, I really didn’t want to stop writing it. But I’m not in the mood for a fun column today.
If the National Football League reinstates convicted dog killer Michael Vick for the 2009 season –- Internet rumors have him possibly going to San Francisco or Chicago — I can no longer support the league that’s provided me with so many fond memories since 1967.
For example, who in Indiana can forget the Indianapolis Colts’ Super Bowl run two years ago? I won’t.
The New York Giants knocking off the “unbeatable” New England Patriots in last year’s Super Bowl was pretty darn fun to watch.
I’m even rooting for Edgerrin James, Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald and the rest of the Arizona Cardinals to whip the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.
But after that, well, let’s see if the NFL does the right thing and permanently bans Vick after he’s released from federal custody, supposedly in July.
If it allows Vick to play in 2009, here is how I plan to respond:
1. I will no longer spend money on fantasy football (one of my favorite hobbies).
2. I will not willingly watch one second of an NFL game or an NFL highlight show. That includes my favorite team, the Colts, even if it’s not Indy that signs him. That also includes the Super Bowl, even if Dogkiller’s team isn’t in it.
3. Anytime I’m watching SportsCenter or any other television sports show, I will immediately change the channel whenever NFL news of any kind appears. If I’m seated in a restaurant with friends while an NFL show comes on TV, I will not leave, because I wouldn’t want to disrespect my friends. But I will pay as little attention to the show as humanly possible (except to make mental notes of the commercial sponsors so I’ll know which products I should avoid buying).
4. I will no longer read NFL-related message boards on the Internet.
5. I will encourage as many others as possible, even if some don’t take me seriously, to follow steps 1, 2, 3 and 4 with me.
6. If friends ask for my thoughts on some exciting game that took place the previous Sunday or Monday, I’ll probably say, “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I don’t watch the NFL anymore.”
7. I will only write about NFL-related activities (such as Colts camp at Rose-Hulman this summer) if assigned to do so by this newspaper. Even at that, I will do so reluctantly.
I realize the NFL won't give a rat's behind if David Hughes in Terre Haute, Indiana, boycotts its product. But maybe if several hundred thousand pet owners take a stand, the league might resist the urge to ruin its reputation.
Sure, a prolonged boycott would be difficult for me to do. I really enjoy watching the NFL — so much that I’ve purchased most of the expensive DirecTV Sunday packages for my home over the last three years –- but my love for animals exceeds my love for the NFL. There’s no doubt that if I set my mind to it, this boycott will last as long as I live.
Come November, if sports fans are talking about the undefeated Colts or the undefeated Whoevers, all I need as a reminder for the boycott is thinking about what Vick did to his own pets.
I can’t comprehend what a poor excuse of a human being Vick must be if he could torture and kill those poor animals without showing the slightest hint of real remorse.
Roger Goodell, please do us all a favor: Don’t ever let this piece of garbage back in your great league.
If anyone would like to sign an Internet petition urging commissioner Goodell to ban Vick from the NFL permanently, go to http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-NFL-from-reinstating-MichaelVick?page=7.
When I last checked, it had more than 20,400 signatures. Not enough to affect the NFL yet, but hopefully it’s a good start.
Think about it. The Atlanta Falcons did just fine without Vick in 2008 and, with the more talented and far more respectable Matt Ryan at quarterback, there’s no reason to think they won’t continue to improve in 2009.
Like the Falcons, the NFL is better off without Vick.
OK, I hear some of you saying: “But he will have paid his debt to society. He deserves a second chance to work. Blah, blah, blah.”
Yes, Vick deserves a chance to work. Let him get behind a fast-food counter asking customers if they want fries with their cheeseburger in Atlanta, although McDonald’s or Burger King surely can find more dignified employees than this thug at one of the local high schools.
If Vick “has a right” to play in the NFL again, I have a right to stop caring about the NFL.
• • •
• Practice makes perfect — Back on Jan. 14, a video of 13-year-old Ryan Francis of Charlotte, N.C., making an incredible outdoor basketball shot appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.”
What made the shot so incredible was that Francis threw the ball onto a neighbor’s garage roof, where it bounced down to the driveway, then it bounced up and off the backboard and dropped through the net.
In case you’re wondering why you should care, the teenager is the son of Mark Francis, one of my classmates at Terre Haute South High School and Indiana State University back in the Stone Ages.
The proud father said Ryan needed about 100 tries before getting the shot right.
David Hughes can be reached by phone at 1-800-783-8742, Option 4, or at (812) 231-4224 after 4 p.m.; by e-mail at david.hughes@tribstar.com; or by fax at (812) 231-4321.
Hughes News & Views
Hughes News & Views: Gasp! No Super Bowl odds this year
Preparation for NFL boycott begins if Vick gets reinstated
- Hughes News & Views
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Terre Haute runner sets up race to help Boston
Having competed in the Boston Marathon once before in 2003, 35-year-old Majel Wells of Terre Haute thought she should give it another try in 2013.
“My goal was just to finish and enjoy Boston,” she reflected this week. “I had an injury [runner’s knee] beforehand, so I wasn’t too worried about beating my time from 2003 [4 hours, 10.20 seconds].
“But nobody cares about what your time is at Boston anyway.”
From what I’ve heard over the years, she’s right. Unless you’re a super-serious runner, the Boston Marathon has been more about taking in the atmosphere and having fun than placing in the top 50, although Wells was pleased that she beat her previous time by finishing in 3:55.19 on April 15.
Obviously, her race time wasn’t the most vivid memory that Wells took away from her 2013 Boston experience. -
Former South players to play in Saylor benefit game
I had my first phone conversation with Mike Saylor since mid-February on Thursday and he sounded good.
The former Terre Haute South High School boys basketball coach, who’s been battling cancer this year, has been traveling back and forth to the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston for chemotherapy treatments. -
Recent South swimmers Roach, Bray heading to DI nationals
I’m sure most of you with office jobs can relate.
When work gets busy, sometimes it’s easy to skim over our emails. After all, how many times do we need to read the same nonsense from alleged Nigerians wanting to make us rich if we’ll send them several thousand dollars first?
So after having three consecutive days off, that almost happened to me when I returned to work Tuesday. Then I realized that the message from Jeff Thompson, Terre Haute South High School’s boys and girls swimming coach, contained significant news. -
NCAA Division III basketball tournament returns to Rose-Hulman
The last time Rose-Hulman served as host for the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament, its game was played inside an old World War II airplane hangar.
You “old-timers” should know the building I’m talking about and the matchup wasn’t really that long ago — March 6, 1997, to be exact. -
DAVID HUGHES: Childhood friends use faith, sports to get them through
When I learned in February 2009 that a rare form of appendix cancer would devastate my life and cause me to miss work for several months, Mike Saylor was among the first to offer assistance.
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Book review: Thumbs up for ‘Trophies and Tears’
Now might be too late for giving Christmas presents, but the book “Trophies and Tears: The Story of Evansville and the Aces” is a fascinating read for longtime Indiana basketball fans, particularly those older than 40.
Written by award-winning Kyle Keiderling of Henderson, Nev., and released in hardcover format in mid-December, the 480-page “Trophies and Tears” documents the rich tradition of the University of Evansville men’s basketball program through recent interviews and research of old yearbooks and newspaper/scrapbook clippings.
The book contains many cheery moments — behind-the-scenes details of all five NCAA College Division (now known as Division II) championships won in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s by the Purple Aces and their legendary coach Arad McCutchan — although some of those moments don’t seem so cheery from an Indiana State perspective when the Sycamores found themselves on the losing end of scores. -
Hughes, News & Views: Wishing for Colts-Broncos playoff matchup from Santa
There’s plenty of tragedy in the world to bring us down if we let it, so let’s have a light-hearted column today — my annual Christmas gift requests for Santa Claus.
I already know one of my gift wishes is becoming less likely to happen. That would be for the Indianapolis Colts to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC playoffs. -
Colts' loyalty tested by Manning, Broncos
We’re approaching the halfway point of the NFL season and so far it’s been surprisingly enjoyable.
I wasn’t sure how I would handle following two favorite teams — 1a.) the Indianapolis Colts and 1b.) Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos — but the new arrangement hasn’t caused me any loyalty conflicts yet.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Sorting out the sports air waves
My name isn’t attached to them, but I’m the one who usually puts together the “Sports on the air” television/radio listings that appear daily on this newspaper’s Scoreboard Page.
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Hughes, News & Views: North junior ready to go racing
When we last visited 16-year-old Rachel Gutish, she was finishing sixth in the Women’s Enduro X race in the nationally televised Summer X Games at Los Angeles.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Yelovich still striking the ball long on LDA Tour
In June 2011, I wrote a feature story about former Indiana State basketball center Mick Yelovich making a name for himself as a golfer on the Long Drivers Association (LDA) Tour.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts? Broncos? Maybe there’s more than enough room for both
I’ve got a longtime buddy who I’m fairly sure rarely, if ever, reads this column.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Point of Jones’ return
Since May 14, Indiana high school basketball fans have wondered why Jim Jones would want to come out of retirement at 74.
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HUGHES, NEWS & VIEWS: Questions abound for Indy 500, Manning, baseball sectional
Phones are ringing less frequently in the Tribune-Star sports department this week.
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Hughes, News & Views: Hutson getting ready for final stretch toward Olympic Trials
If Kylie Hutson were a cross-country runner, she’d be approaching the final stretch of her biggest race in about three weeks.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose basketball alumni offer advice to current team
Bryan Egli and Joe Puthoff, both Rose-Hulman basketball starters I covered in the late 1990s, took their degrees from the prestigious engineering institute and found successful careers in the Indianapolis area.
Egli, also a former West Vigo High School multi-sport standout, lives in Carmel and works for Thieneman Construction in Westfield. Puthoff lives in Indy and works for Rolls Royce Aircraft Engines. -
DAVID HUGHES: Super Bowl odds getting stranger and stranger
Today’s annual “Super Bowl odds column” feels special to me because I’ve been a diehard NFL fan since 1967 and next Sunday will be the first time the big game takes place in our great state of Indiana.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Coach’s book a chance to remember North Vermillion state champs
Almost 10 years ago, February 2002 to be exact, the New England Patriots upset the high-powered St. Louis Rams to win Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans, the Winter Olympics entertained spectators in Salt Lake City and Terre Haute South High School’s girls basketball team started its tournament run toward a Class 4A state title.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Plenty of sports-related gifts for columnist's wish list
Last week, I was all set to beg Santa Claus to give the Indianapolis Colts a certificate good for one NFL regular-season victory.
Then the 2011 Colts decided to play like the 2009 Colts and clobber the Tennessee Titans on Sunday for their first win of the season. So that present won’t be necessary. -
HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: WTHI defends decision not to show Colts
When your favorite NFL team is threatening to finish 0-16, you have to figure a few fans will jump off the bandwagon.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Former South coach Rady makes it look easy
Jack Butcher, Howard Sharpe and Bill Stearman.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Wheldon's genuine personality a devastating loss to racing
Lori Wood, the Tribune-Star’s Indianapolis 500 correspondent since 2000, planned to visit a friend in California and take in the IndyCar Las Vegas 300 as a ticket-buying fan last weekend.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Past greats proud of ISU’s recent improvements
Indiana State football alum Chris “Big C” Hicks will turn 58 Saturday and he knows exactly what he wants for his birthday.
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HUGHES NEWS AND VIEWS: Rose-Hulman hungry for first football victory of season
The Engineers have not endured a losing season since 2004. But they’ve opened this season at 0-2, causing Sokol to admit they’re desperate for a win.
“We’re all very hungry for a victory,” he said after practice Thursday. “We all want to taste victory really, really bad.” -
Valley semipro football team reaches championship of IFL
The West Central Wildcats’ semipro football team from Terre Haute has been written about before in this column space over the last two years.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Colts cheerleaders glad to get back on field
When I heard the NFL lockout finally ended this week, I looked for someone affiliated with the Indianapolis Colts to get a reaction.
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Amateur boxing card set for outdoors at Show-Me's
We all know what Show-Me’s sports bar is famous for around Terre Haute, right?
Chicken wings, of course. -
HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Porter’s persistence keeps his boxing career going
When I walked in Sweatbox Gym through the alley door Wednesday, I wondered if a time machine had taken me back to the 1950s, the glory days of boxing.
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HUGHES, NEWS AND VIEWS: Seaton aces chance for more Div. 1 volleyball
Plagued by one injury after another after another, Kristen Seaton was ready to turn off the lights on her volleyball career.
In her mind, the party was over.
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HUGHES NEWS & VIEWS: Semi-pro football team to kick off season today
If you’re worried about the NFL season being canceled and you can’t wait months for the college and high school seasons to begin, you can get your football fix tonight at Memorial Stadium.
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